The most important stories of ’17

DECEMBER

It turned out that the 1902 Highland Society of London Gold Medal sold in an online auction out of New York wasn’t the one won by the Willie Ross, but the thought that such a piece of piping history might be lost forever to a gold smelter upset pipers and drummers worldwide. The status of the artifact is unknown.

A study showing that the Piping Live! festival brought in more money and goodwill than ever to the city of Glasgow was welcome to all who know what’s good for piping. The festival goes from strength to strength, making that week in August the biggest on the piping and drumming calendar.

What a year it was in 2017! pipes|drums brought readers almost 375 separate articles over the last 12 months, working to report all sides of stories as well as we can. It takes money to run the non-profit operation so, if you don’t already, we hope that you 1. Support our advertisers (and please tell them you saw them on pipes|drums), and 2. Subscribe to receive complete access to all pipes|drums content.

Have you ever wondered why change is so slow to come with the rules, regulations, policies and practices of piping and drumming organizations? One cause could be term limits – or the lack of them – for elected executives and … Con …

TIP OF THE DAYQuality reed selection is a pre-requisite to obtaining a good tone in a pipe corps. Four criteria to consider when testing reeds are balance, vibrancy, volume and strength. Check the High A Low A balance against a single sounding tenor drone – if these two notes are in the ballpark chances are the rest of the notes can be tuned.Stewart MacKenzie, P-M, Manawatu Scottish